Nehemiah 2:6

2:6 Then the king, with his consort 1  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, 2  I gave him a time.

Nehemiah 3:25

3:25 After him Palal son of Uzai worked 3  opposite the buttress and the tower that protrudes from the upper palace 4  of the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh

1 tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”

2 tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”

3 tc The MT lacks the phrase אַחֲרָיו הֶחֱזִיק (’akharayv hekheziq, “after him worked”). This phrase is used repeatedly in Neh 3:16-31 to introduce each worker and his location. It probably dropped out accidentally through haplography.

4 tn Heb “house of the king.”